There are three dimensions to this. One is obviously cultural, where Republicans are largely in line with working class cultural values. So much so that all Trump had to do in 2016 was shout out some slogans and uncover a groundswell of support. The second is cultural-economic, where Republicans represent "middle America" on issues like immigration. The third is economic, where Republicans are broadly pro-consumer, pro-individual wealth, pro-family business, and pro-deregulation. If you want an example, go watch Trump's 2020 Hispanic ads that aired in Florida. It's a fundamental pro-economy message, with a "Hispanics are American" undertone.

If what you believe is true then why do all the economists liberal and conservative alike believe the economy does better under democratic presidents?

https://evonomics.com/economists-agree-democratic-presidents-better-making-us-rich-eight-reasons/

Your own article says that the interviewed experts do not think that Democrats are causally better for the economy, they point to coincidence when it comes to the empirical finding that the economy grew more under Democratic presidents.

To name just two examples: the Great Recession was the result of 25 years of ill-guided deregulation. The bubble which burst to trigger this recession was fed by the policies of Reagan, Clinton and GWB alike. It was simply bad timing that it burst at the tail end of GWB's presidency. Had it burst just a handful of months later, the entire empirical narrative would be flipped since GWB would not own as much of the contraction and Obama wouldnt have gotten as many "easy gains" to pad his economic stats.

Similarly, it was unlucky that Bush sr. lost reelection because of an ill-timed, mild and ultimately inconsequential recession had poisoned the public narrative against him and because a strange wonk ran the strongest third party campaign in half a century, allowing the Democrat to win with just 43% of the vote. And just for the record: between the freedom dividend after the end of the cold war, the emergence of the internet and the largest generation in American history entering its peak earning years, the 1990s were always headed toward an economic boom. Whoever happened to be president at that time was gonna have a great economy, regardless of party affiliation.

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Mar 31 2021 03:39pm

Except ACTUAL NUMBERS say you are wrong, your feelings are meaningless.


This happens in australia too but the series of coincidences goes back 100 years.. and our left always come out in front.

This post was edited by Plaguefear on Apr 1 2021 02:14am

Oh, I dont dispute that Democratic New Deal policies were better for the economy (and society) than the laissez-faire approach of the 1920s GOP. When it comes to pre-WWI economic policy, I'm out of my depth.

I'm just saying that Republican presidents have gotten unlucky with the timing of economic crises which were not (primarily) of their own making three times during my lifetime. (The two recessions of the Bushes and of course covid for Trump.) And like I explained in my previous post: Clinton got lucky with the economy; and Obama was handed easy gains (which would have come just as well under a president McCain) to pad his stats.

They were NOT.

The New Deal caused the Great Depression. The New Deal levied punitive and destructive taxes across the business sector. That prevented the economy from rebounding. It was the equivalent of dropping napalm after a forest fire. No new growth was allowed. If we kept the 1920s policies, the crash still happens but the economy sharply rebounds and things would have been vastly better. Instead, we crashed in 1929 and stayed down for a DECADE needlessly. FDR ruined this nation's economy.

Actual numbers? I don’t care about your inner city fast food workers (min wage jobs) that the Democrat party holds onto as a statistic. Rural Americans are destroyed under Democrats, from mining, manufacturing, to farming.

This post was edited by Landmine on Apr 1 2021 05:19am

On cultural issues, and those such as immigration and trade, I agree Republicans are more in line with what the working class believes.

What it comes down to though is what you consider pro-working class policies. I don't believe protectionist policies help the working class overall. Immigration is an issue that is not that relevant to most working class people's bottom lines. But those two issues stoke nativism and resentment against the darkies/foreigners/globalists, so they work for Republicans.

I tend to believe the economic policy of moderate Democrats is far more pro-working class than any faux populist platform in the Republican party. The right-wing populists are able to effectively play grievance politics, and that's about it. When it comes time to use government to help working class people, suddenly they are once again Chamber of Commerce/Koch Brother Republicans.